BACKDROP; Sometimes, A Candidate Is Meant to Look Plastic

Published: September 16, 2012

Civil War raged -- is valued at less than $1,000. Still, it probably wouldn't hurt to hang on to a 2012 ''Mitt Happens'' button or a Michelle Obama cutout doll to see what it's worth in 20 years.">

THE Republican and Democratic conventions weren't merely forums for the presidential candidates to attract voters. They were also chances for the host cities, Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., to reap economic benefits from an onslaught of visitors. Those cashing in included vendors selling campaign-related wares like pins, T-shirts, cutout figures and dolls featuring the race's dramatis personae. Will saving these trifles make anyone rich in the future? It doesn't seem likely. What might be considered a prime find now -- an 1864 campaign pin for Abraham Lincoln's re-election, as the Civil War raged -- is valued at less than $1,000. Still, it probably wouldn't hurt to hang on to a 2012 ''Mitt Happens'' button or a Michelle Obama cutout doll to see what it's worth in 20 years.

PHOTOS: Clockwise from above, lifesize cutouts of President Obama and health care workers at a photograph stand at the Democratic convention; the scramble for state signs as souvenirs after the Republican gathering; small cutouts for sale in Charlotte; and T-shirts for sale in Tampa. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY TODD HEISLER/THE NEW YORK TIMES; JOE SKIPPER/REUTERS; TRAVIS DOVE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES; MAX WHITTAKER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES); Political memorabilia has long been a colorful business, especially in the cities that play host to the major parties' national conventions. This year was no exception, as vast arrays of items greeted delegates in and around the convention halls in Tampa, Fla., where the Republicans nominated Mitt Romney, and in Charlotte, N.C., where the Democrats blessed President Obama for a second term. Clockwise from top left were a pile of Obama T-shirts in Charlotte; an assortment of Romney buttons in downtown Tampa; Obama coin banks; and a Romney punching doll and other items on a chair on the Republicans' convention floor. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY TRAVIS DOVE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES; MAX WHITTAKER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)

Civil War raged -- is valued at less than $1,000. Still, it probably wouldn't hurt to hang on to a 2012 ''Mitt Happens'' button or a Michelle Obama cutout doll to see what it's worth in 20 years.">